Now Playing -- The Movie Review Podcast

Cobra Why The Karate Kid franchise has had nothing but victories lately. The 2010 remake was a box-office success, and fans flocked to YouTube and Netflix for Cobra Kai. Now, Sony wants to high-kick this franchise back into theaters and combine the universes, having both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan as teachers to young Li Fong (Ben Wang). But with those senseis relegated to glorified cameos, and the karate coming late into the film, will audiences be disappointed in this film that focuses as much on boxing as martial arts? And can it live up to the nostalgic joy of Cobra Kai? Join Arnie, Jason, and Brock now to find out!

Kids, the story of how I met your mother includes a drifter with no phone and a body count Now Playing Podcast has a bonus Friday episode, free for all listeners! This time, the hosts take aim at Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, the 2016 Tom Cruise action sequel. Does the second Reacher film live up to the first, or should it have followed its own advice and stayed away? Find out in this all-new review, available now!

He's an expert at finding a parking spot in Pittsburgh. Which is no easy feat, let me tell you! In this week’s new podcast, we’re taking aim at Jack Reacher. Tom Cruise stars as the mysterious drifter and former military investigator in this gritty action thriller. It also marks the first time Cruise teamed up with director Christopher McQuarrie, a partnership that would lead to several Impossible films to come. Does this adaptation of Lee Child’s popular novel One Shot hit the mark? Listen now as our hosts break down the action, the performances, and whether Jack Reacher stands tall or falls short.

Blood is thicker than water, but both make a mess when you splatter. It’s been an entire generation since the last Final Destination crushed the box office in 2011. Now Death is back and stalking an entire family tree. Grandma survived a toppling tower in the ‘60s and now Death wants her, and her heirs. Can Tony Todd, in his final performance, help break the Bloodlines’ curse? Log on and join us now to find out! 

Limp Wick John Wick may be dead…but the franchise is very much alive. With spin-off films like Ballerina, Caine, and an anime Wick prequel on the way and John Wick 5 already in the works, the high-octane universe of assassins, coins, and Continental rules isn't slowing down anytime soon. But before we return to the big screen, we’re flashing back to the 1970s for the Peacock mini-series The Continental: From the World of John Wick. Can a TV budget capture the brutal elegance and balletic gun-fu that made the films iconic? And do fans really want the origin story of Winston Scott — played here by Colin Woodell, stepping into Ian McShane’s stylish shoes? Justin, Jason, and Arnie check in for a full review, exploring every bullet, betrayal, and bourbon-soaked twist. Grab your gold coins and hit play — this is one check-in you don’t want to miss!

Houston, we have a podcast! Houston, Stuart has a problem… with our co-host in the ICU, Arnie, Brock, and Justin have come together to discuss a film that’s all about survival, perseverance, and the triumph of the human spirit: Apollo 13. As the acclaimed Ron Howard/Tom Hanks collaboration marks its 30th anniversary, the hosts revisit this beloved biopic to see if it still soars. Strap in and listen now!

From cotton fields to coffin lids Sinners isn’t just a vampire movie—it’s a Southern Gothic opera about bloodlines, betrayal, and the price of your soul. On this episode, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie dive into Ryan Coogler’s (Black Panther) first original feature, where Michael B. Jordan (Creed) plays war-torn twins battling both the past and the undead in 1930s Mississippi. Hailee Steinfeld (Hawkeye) plays Mary, Stack’s former flame-turned-vampire femme fatale, while Jayme Lawson's (The Batman) haunting voice lingers long after the music fades. From historical horror to emotional gut-punches, we explore whether Sinners earns its place among Coogler’s best—and whether immortality is a curse or a second chance.

How To Overfeed Your Dragon Chris Pine (Star Trek) and Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar) learn there’s no Honor Among Thieves when accomplice Hugh Grant (Heretic) sends them to prison so he can lay sole claim on the spoils of a heist. Does the wise-cracking bard have the charisma points to pull off a revenge campaign that rescues daughter Chloe Coleman (My Spy) using insecure wizard Justice Smith (Detective Pikachu), shape-shifting druid Sophia Lillis (It), and saintly dandy Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton)? Listen Now to find out if Dungeons & Dragons is sick of failure in 2023.

50 Shades of Grayson Azriel The third Dungeons & Dragons movie is steeped in sin as it partners a quartet of bloodthirsty bandits with a celibate knight on a quest to rescue his father from a kinky underworld. Is returning director Gerry Lively faithful to the letter of the 3rd edition game supplement The Book of Vile Darkness, which first let players fall under the spell of a black magic text printed in blood, skin, and bone? And why did SyFy Channel pass on this 2012 campaign, limiting its official release to the UK? Justin, Stuart, and Arnie are ready to suck fingers to find out how bad it gets.

Cocky Blockers Jack Black attempts to build a cinematic universe out of chickens cooked in lava, rampaging pigs and zombies, and other doodads mined from the biggest video game of all time. But is it wise to spend $150 million on A Minecraft Movie that just looks like pixelated 8-bit graphics?  And is any of the Overland’s wild architecture as creative as the fringed leather wardrobe that Jason Mamoa sports in the real world?  Listen Now to find out if director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) can fill the plot holes and deliver a winning Now Playing Arcade entry.

A saga for the ages… or at least a podcast appropriate for April Fool’s Day British heavy Bruce Payne (Passenger 57) is the only cast member willing to return for a Dungeons & Dragons sequel now that the 2005 campaign is being launched on SyFy Channel.  Can new director Gerry Lively (Darkness Falls) do a better job of advancing the fantasy role-playing game into a credible cinematic universe by more closely studying the classic monster manuals and rule books of TSR?  Find out if hosts Justin, Stuart, and Arnie have much clemency for yet another low-budget quest to enchant today’s tabletop players. Listen Now! 

The Desolation of Snails Jeremy Irons sees a reversal of fortune in his acting career as he conjures an army of fire-breathing beasts to fight empress Thora Birch (American Beauty) in a theatrical Dungeon And Dragons campaign from 2000. Can wise-cracking thieves Justin Whalin (Lois & Clark) and Marlon Wayans (White Chicks) bring together a mage, a dwarf, and an elf to acquire the magic gem that will put an end to all the shoddy CGI work swirling in the sky? Listen now to learn if Arnie, Stuart, and Justin have the constitution points to endure another board game movie.

That Thing You Pardieu  College kid Tom Hanks plays RPG Mazes And Monsters and quickly descends into madness and murder in this notorious 1982 TV movie. Did Maze Controller Chris Makepeace (Meatballs) make the fantasy too real by swapping out dice bags and painted figurines for a live-action campaign inside a dangerous cave? Or did the future Oscar winner simply get too wrapped up in a delusional Method Acting quest to become his holy man character, forsaking his studies and sex with girlfriend Wendy Crewson (The Santa Clause)? Join us in the Great Hall to find out!

Goodbye Friend Horror specialist Mike Flanagan (Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House) picks up another Ouija board to tell the 2016 prequel story Origin of Evil. Can sham medium Elizabeth Reaser (Twilight) finally give up the ghost and let her 9-year-old daughter take over the seance business after the girl uses the mass market spirit board to connect with ghoul Doug Jones (Shape of Water)?  Or is priest Henry Thomas (E.T.) right to phone an exorcist, and stop more bodies from winding up in the basement walls?  Get the skinny on another board game film when you Listen Now!

Hi Friend Terrible things happen to a high school girl playing alone with an Ouija board in this hit 2014 chiller. Can Bates Motel co-star Olivia Cooke conduct a seance with the mass market spirit board that reveals the true reason her BFF committed suicide in her suburban home?  And what does nutcase Lin Shaye (Insidious) know about the ghosts of an abusive mother and silenced daughter that can be seen when looking through the “glass eye” of a planchette?  Our lips are sealed until you make contact with the latest entry in Now Playing’s board game retrospective!

Dead Time For Bonzo Twin boys decide to wind up The Monkey toy left to them by absentee father Adam Scott (Severance), only to learn the mechanical drum solos cause mass carnage throughout small-town Maine. Can introvert Theo James (White Lotus) grow up to stop a bullying twin brother (also Theo James) from using the organ grinder to play off all their neighbors and family members into an early grave?  Listen Now to hear Arnie, Stuart, and Brock dance to the offbeat rhythm that director Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) has given this classic Stephen King short story.

The Leader of the Package Anthony Mackie still sports his Falcon wings as he steps into the role of Captain America, and navigates a Brave New World of political intrigue without first Avenger Chris Evans. Should he give a vote of confidence to new President Harrison Ford by helping the ailing politician soften the “Hulk Hunter” image earned when played by William Hurt? Or is everyone in Washington DC being led on by Tim Blake Nelson, whose musical mind-control threatens to destabilize global efforts to peacefully bring adamantium to the MCU? Listen Now to learn if Red Hulk’s a smash!

You sank my franchise!   Hasbro and Hollywood transform the Milton Bradley seafaring board game of pegs and wild guesses into the $200 million would-be blockbuster Battleship. But how can box office poison Taylor Kitsch (John Carter) hope to stop an invasion of space aliens splashing down in giant armored vessels when he can’t even deliver a frozen burrito to hungry girlfriend Brooklyn Decker without incident?  Will older brother Alexander Skarsgard, trigger-happy singer Rihanna, and hardass admiral Liam Neeson help this sailor shape up or ship out?  Find out now!

And Then There Was Fun  Justin, Stuart, and Arnie roll the dice on finding a good movie based on a board game, starting with the 1985 adaptation of the Parker Brothers classic Clue. Can butler Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show) keep the funny banter alive as he scrambles to identify the guilty amongst dinner party guests Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mrs Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), Miss Scarlett (Lesley Ann Warren), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), and Mr Green (Michael McKean)? Hear the hosts kill it with a Microphone in the Recording Room now!

The Wrath of San Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh tires of being Everything Everywhere All At Once, and beams back into Star Trek for a 14th motion picture now streaming on Paramount Plus. Can she help a Section 31 black ops team operate outside Federation space, and recover a WMD she created back when she ruled the evil mirror universe of Terran? And how well does future Starfleet Captain Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl) keep this crew of assassins and seductresses in line with the utopian vision of creator Gene Roddenberry? The podcast is set to stun, so Listen Now!